1. Field
Pad printing, inkjet printing, and a combination of these are used to print labels and for various other printing applications.
2. Prior Art
The concept of applying ink to a flexible pad for subsequent transfer is taught in our above patent. The pad comprises a flat sheet of flexible pad material, such as silicone rubber. It is typically square, 10 cm on a side, and 1.5 cm thick, although other sizes and shapes are useful. The pad can be smaller or larger. The size and shape of the pad are determined by the area and shape of the ink image and final receiving surface.
In this system, the pad is initially flat. Its edges are restrained by a holding bracket. An inkjet head or other marking applicator deposits an image on the flat front pad surface. The image is then transferred to a receiving object.
In a first application, the pad remains flat. The image-bearing, flat pad is brought into contact with a convex, curved surface, such as a golf ball. When the pad is forced against the ball, the pad conforms to the surface of the ball with a rolling motion, transferring the image from the pad to the ball.
In a second application, the initially flat, image-bearing pad is caused to bulge. The pad is forcibly deformed by a ram, or equivalent method, applied to the opposite side of the pad. The bulged pad is then brought into contact with the final receiving surface. The receiving surface in this case can be flat, undulating, or both, such as a cellular telephone case. The previously-applied inkjet image transfers from the pad to the receiving surface. A decorated part results. The principal advantage of this system is the ability to transfer multi-color images in a single step.